Almost everyone at one time or another has utilized a form of tie-down in endeavoring to secure a canopy, tarpaulin or the like around an object, to protect such object from the weather. One example of an effort of this type is involved when attempting to secure a canopy or tarpaulin around an outdoor cooker at the end of the summer season, to prevent the accumulation of snow or rain and consequent rusting of the device. Another example would be the securing of a canopy or tarpaulin around an outboard motor at the end of the boating season, to minimize damage to the motor due to dampness and the like.
An entirely different tie-down arrangement is involved when securing a plastic leaf bag or the like around the upper rim of a trashcan, bag holder or the like, so that the bag will not slip away from the upper part of the bag holder when the bag is nearing fullness, and the weight of the leaves has become considerable.
The typical tie-down arrangement for holding a leaf bag to the upper rim of a trashcan, bag holder or the like has in the past involved either the user attempting to tie a cord tightly around the top of the bag, to hold it in place, or else attempting to utilize a large elastic band, or else a cord in which a tension spring has been interposed.
The difficulty of these arrangements is that typically it is almost impossible to tie a cord tightly enough as to prevent the thin plastic leaf bag from slipping downwardly at the time it is nearing fullness, because of the slick, slippery nature of the plastic bag. When using an elastic band, or else a cord with a spring in it, a considerable force is necessarily involved in attempting to deploy it properly around the bag if slippage of the bag is to be prevented. This force can be so substantial as to make it practically impossible for a child or lady to exert sufficient force to achieve the proper installation of the elastic band or spring cord around the object.
It was in an effort to improve upon tie-down arrangements of the prior art that the present invention was evolved.